Cleveland Browns Week 10: Losing to Win 

The Week 9 Bye went by awfully fast. A neutral game day and no trade deadline drama to speak of, combined to dispel the typical dark cloud over Huntington Bank Field. Let the second half of the season begin. Week 10 is locked and loaded.

As the Cleveland Browns prepare to face the New York Jets, it is tough to ignore the irony of this matchup. Both teams have horrendous records. (Cleveland 2-6; New York 1-7) Each has a greater chance of being collectively kidnapped by aliens than making it to post-season play. However, the irony here is that the Browns and the Jets both can gain more from a loss in Week 10 than a win.

A game featuring two teams that perform as terribly as the Browns and the Jets usually becomes a contest about pride. It is natural to expect that Cleveland’s coaches, players, and faithful fans would find joy and personal satisfaction from a victory. However, the guys signing the paychecks might prefer losing to saving face.

Why a Win Could Hurt  

It seems counterintuitive- winning against the Jets being a negative situation, but here are a few reasons why some feel this way.

• Draft Damage: With a top draft pick, the Browns will most likely be shopping for a sensational rookie quarterback. You know, the kid to save the franchise, bring home a Lombardi, and establish world peace. (Just like always- no pressure.) If the top-tier quarterbacks from this draft class are unavailable because the Browns dropped down in the first round, then the patchwork quarterback collection continues.

• False Sense of Improvement: Beating a 1-7 Jets team doesn’t prove anything. It provides a short-term pat on the head but nothing that builds the team.

• Band-Aid for the Coaching Staff: A win might take some heat off of Head Coach Kevin Stefanski. However, Stefanski’s decision to turn over play-calling to offensive coordinator Tommy Rees will likely be what makes a difference going forward.

• Tension with the Front Office: If the powers that be see the season as a wash and are prepping draft day scenarios, wins from here on out will be relatively meaningless. However, players and coaches will chase wins regardless, putting them at odds with the execs and their long-term plans—a fine example of the business of the NFL vs the game of football.

When Winning wasn’t Everything- Flashback to 2016

Under typical conditions, a Browns’ win is a cause for, if not celebration, a reduction of cumulative pain. However, the lesson learned from  the improbable Christmas Eve Miracle win in 2016, is that chasing mediocrity puts draft picks at risk. While players wept with joy and fans celebrated as if it were a Super Bowl victory, behind the scenes, there was a real fear that the win would cost the team the first overall pick —and Myles Garrett. In 2016, the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Los Angeles Rams, improving their record and sealing Cleveland’s draft pick.

Both franchises are expected to be in the market for a quarterback again. The Jets’ moves ahead of the trade deadline made their rebuilding intentions clear. The Browns, in perpetual rebuild mode, have two first-round picks in the 2025 NFL Draft. If Cleveland’s pick is late in the first round, the quarterback shelf may be empty.

The quarterback saga is all too familiar in Cleveland, and the city has endured enough disastrous experiments to know how this story unfolds. The reality is the Browns’ players are increasingly frustrated by the losses stacking up. These guys want to play competitively and win, even though the appeal of shoring up draft day positioning is hard to ignore.

Of course, we have a lot of football left to play this season. A few more wins wouldn’t hurt our future that much, would they?